News

Left of Larsen

Liberal district receives a Green challenge

By Ralph Schwartz

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Here’s a bold prediction for the 2018 elections: Democrat Rick Larsen of Everett will keep his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

This may elicit a collective groan from progressives in the 2nd Congressional District, who have maligned Larsen for catering to corporations and the military. They point to his campaign donors: In this latest cycle, three-fourths of his contributions have come from major corporate and union political action committees. The list includes Amazon,…

Music

Ski to Sea

For you and me

By Carey Ross

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

I cannot predict the future. Even so, it’s probably a safe bet that I will never compete as part of a Ski to Sea team, unless I am forced to do it to save someone’s life. And it would have to be someone I’m close to, mind you. Not just anyone will do.

Even so, I can—and frequently do—participate in Ski to Sea. I simply choose a slightly different adventure than the one embarked upon by the athletes. My own annual tradition also tends to be a multi-stage affair, the difference…

Food

Dandelions 101

Mixing bitterness with pleasure

By Ari LeVaux

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Our country was born loving dandelions, having been brought—intentionally—on the Mayflower by the pilgrims, presumably as an easy source of nutrition, but also perhaps for its medicinal value as a digestive aid and blood thinner.

Somewhere along our personal journeys, grownups manage to convince us dandelions are bad, because of what they do to the grass monocultures most Americans cultivate instead of food.

Outdoors

Ski to Sea

The big picture

By Amy Kepferle

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

I spent at least an hour last Sunday afternoon sitting on a piece of driftwood on a beach on Lummi Island and gazing across the expanse of low-tide sandbars and eelgrass beds to the scenic vista beyond.

Although Mt. Baker was temporarily hidden behind a haze of clouds, I pictured its ice-capped glory and the tenacity it would take for a human being to make her or his way from its elevated environs to the waterfront city sprawled below—not via sitting inside a vehicle or an airplane,…

Film

Disobedience

A story of forbidden love

Reviewed by Mick LaSalle

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

It would be a lovely thing if you, the reader, knew less about Disobedience than you already do. Every trailer, every advertisement, every interview in connection with this film has revealed it as a tale of lesbian love set in an intensely Orthodox Jewish community in London. And the reason for this is obvious: You can persuade a lot more people to see a forbidden love story than a movie about a religious community.

But if you do see Disobedience, and you should, try not to think about…

On Stage

Fear of Fascism

It Can’t Happen Here

Among the biggies the President of the United States has thus far checked off are rampant sexism, controlled mass media, obsession with national security, powerful and continuing nationalism, disdain for the recognition of human rights, identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause, the protection of corporate power and cronyism.

Words

Educated

A voice reclaimed

Reviewed by Mary Kinser

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

In her time studying at Harvard and Cambridge, Tara Westover often discovered profound gaps in her knowledge. Teachers would refer to specific events or places that she’d never heard of; other students would make cultural references she didn’t understand.

These discoveries sometimes upended Westover’s worldview, sending her scurrying to learn more, an effort to cover the truth about her past.

That she was accepted to study at such prestigious academic institutions was in itself…

Visual

Time for Art

Bellingham sundial mural project

Where some people see blank spaces, Sasch Stephens is apt to visualize sundials, at least if the area of reference he’s looking at is south-facing and can aptly trace the passage of time.

This was the case when Stephens, a solar energy consultant for NW Sunworks and gnomonist—that’s “professional sundialist” for those who aren’t familiar with the sunny side of the street—happened upon the large wall housing Ciao Thyme on Flora and Unity streets in downtown Bellingham.…

Best of Skagit

Best Tulip Farm

RoozenGaarde

It’s tulip time, and the fields are alive with the light and color of spring. The word’s out, and this spectacular time in the Skagit Valley is no longer a secret.

But Skagit still holds a lot of secrets—mist-shrouded valleys, swollen and mighty rivers, and frosty high country thick with dark pines and devil’s club. And there are the hidey holes—the hamlets sprinkled along old forgotten highways, the winding sloughs and channels of the fertile delta, and the coast beyond—dotted with islands pungent from salt and rain. There are the bars and diners and coffeehouses, the playgrounds and trails. And there are the people who fill them, hearty and happy. And though our readers revealed some of these secrets, Skagit remains a treasure undiscovered.

In Print

The Gristle

BUNGLE IN THE JUNGLE?: The particular political makeup of the 40th Legislative District practically guarantees no conservative can ever be elected to represent the district in Olympia. For decades, the district has been considered “safe” for Democrats. But the exuberant enthusiasm of…